Transporting containers

ABSTRACT

A transporting container having an opening is provided with a cover for tightly closing and sealing the opening. The cover has a portion which fits inside the container and is provided with a flexible sealing member which extends radially beyond the edge of the cover. The flexible member becomes deflected upon insertion into the container and frictionally engages the inside wall surface of the container. An opening is provided in the cover for permitting air to flow into and out of the container.

United States Patent 91 Rieber, Jr. et a1.

[ Apr. 17, 1973 [s41 TRANSPORTING CONTAINERS [75] Inventors: Heinrich Rieber, Jr., Reutlingen- Betzingen; Giinther Lumpp, Reutlingen-Ohmenhausen, both of Germany Heinrich Rieber, Reutlingen-Betzingen, Germany July 28, 1971 Appl. No.: 166,913

[73] Assignee:

[22] Filed:

US. Cl. ..220/44 R, 220/46 R [51] Int. Cl ..B65d 51/16, B65d 53/02 [58] Field of Search .220/46 R, 44 R, 94 A [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,701,659 2/1955 I Baltosser ..220/46 R 3,477,608 11/1969 Fraze ..220/44 R X 3,529,744 9/1970 Johnson et al ..220/94 A 2,907,489 10/1959 Taylor ..220/44 R X 970,496 9/1910 Harbeck i ..220/46 R 2,674,390 4/1954 Meyer ..220/46 R 2,674,472 4/1954 Meyer i ..220/46 R X 7 2,732,092 H1956 Lawrence i ..220/44 R Primary Examiner-Alan N. Knowles Assistant Examiner-Gene A. Church Att0meyMichael S. Striker ABSTRACT A transporting container having an opening is provided with acover for tightly closing and sealing the opening. The cover has a portion which fits inside the container and is provided with a flexible sealing member which extends radially beyond the edge of the cover. The flexible member becomes deflected upon insertion into the container and frictionally engages the inside wall surface of the container. An opening is provided in the cover for permitting air to flow into and out of the container.

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INVENTOR H /z w '1' firm fl 7/2 GUI/file! burr PP TRANSPORTING CONTAINERS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to containers and particularly to closable and seable containers used for transporting goods, partially in a fluidized state, such as foodstuffs.

Food-transporting containers are already known which can be tightly closed. In these containers a cover is placed onto an edge bounding an opening of the container, with a sealing ring interposed, and subsequently pressed in place by means of tensioning devices. Tensioning devices can be in the form of knee-action elements which are articulated at the outer side of the container, or in form of separate tensioning brackets which are usually supported on the cover and which jointly embrace the edge of the cover and the edge of the container. In the case of smaller round transport containers, which are of less interest here, it is also known to provide channel-shaped tensioning bands whose ends are connected with one another by a kneeaction closure and which are so placed that they embrace the edge of the container and the cover between which a sealing ring is located;

These known food-transport containers all have the disadvantage that separate tensioning devices are needed for tight closure, which can be lost and/or project beyond the container or its cover and thus require non-usable transporting space and/or prevent stacking of several food-transporting containers. A further disadvantage of the know food-transporting containers is to be seen in the fact that curves or depressions in the edges at the openings of the transport containers, which frequently also serve for dispensing food and thus are subjected to particular stresses due to the supporting of dishes or to impact by dispensing ladies, the sealing containers is disadvantageously influenced betause these strongly stressed edges of the container serve as abutment surfaces for the sealing rings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a purpose of the presentinvention to provide closable foodtransporting containers which can be economically manufactured and which can be closed absolutely tight and are reliable without requiring volume-consuming and loose closure devices, and which are further capable of being stacked without having to fear any disadvantageous effect upon the tight closure of the container.

According to the present invention these problems are solved by providing a vessel having an opening and a cover which is configurated for matingly closing said opening. Closure of the opening is accomplished by inserting the cover at least partially within the vessel. Flexible sealing means are provided along the cover edge, the flexible sealing means having a sealing lip which radially projects beyond the edge of the cover. Frictional and sealing engagement is accomplished by deflection of the sealing lip in response to closure of the opening by the cover.

The present invention, according to a presently preferred embodiment, provides a cover for sealing of the edges of the opening of the food-transport container, and for its simultaneous retention on the container, and is provided with a sealing lip of flexible material which is in the form of a sealing ring corresponding to the configuration of the opening of the container and which, when the cover is placed onto or into the opening, abuts against the inner side of the container wall in deflected condition. Further, the cover for the container is provided with a closable opening through which displaced air can escape. The invention can be used to particular advantage with food-transport containers having covers which are configurated as recessed insert covers with outer edges which project upwardly and are angled in outward direction. In such a construction the sealing lips which can be formed by an outwardly tapering marginal edge of a flat sealing ring, is so arranged that they project beyond the upwardly extending edge portion. However, the invention can also be used on food-transporting containers with covers which are placed against the exterior, in which case the cover is provided on its inner side with an outwardly projecting portion which enters into the opening of the container and beyond whose outer edge the sealing lip projects.

' The use of a sealing lip which becomes deflected provides a reliable sealing between the cover and the container even if the cover dimensions differ widely due to manufacturing tolerances. The sealing lip also assures reliable sealing in the case of containers wherein the walls have been bent, because the deflected sealing lip can accommodated itself well to the uneven configuration of inner side of the container wall. The sealing lip thus abuts against the inner side of the container and not against the edge bounding the opening of the container which is subjected to particular stresses.

In a food-transporting container according to the present invention, laterally projecting or overhanging closure elements are completely omitted, so that such transport containers can be placed closely adjacent one another or stacked on one another without the danger that one of the containers might become opened. The air-displacing opening is advantageously provided in a depressed region of the cover and can be closedby means of a plug which is secured or of one piece with a strap which is in turn anchored in the depressed region. This opening permits air to escapewhen thetightly sealing cover is put in place, and when the cover, whose handles are also arranged in recessed manner, is removed the air can enter through this opening. The opening is closed by a plug, which could also be replaced by a valve. After the cover is closed, the container could also be-transported lying on its side, or upside down, without any danger that the cover, which is reliably seated as a result of the position of the sealing lip and additionally through the pneumatic retaining effect achieved, could become loosened.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partial top plan view of a food-transporting container closed with a cover according to the.

present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary section through the container and the cover taken on line II-II of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a portion of the sealing ring forming the sealing lip, with cross-sectional profile being shown.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings, in which like reference numerals are used to designate like parts throughout,

and looking first at FIG. 1, a transporting container commonly used for transporting food is illustrated in section. The presently preferred embodiment of this invention will be described in relation to food-transport containers whose dimensions are chosenin accordance with the internationally chosen gastronorm. However, as will become clear from the disclosure, the present invention can be equally well used in relation to any other goods-transportin g containers.

First describing the details of the sectional illustration of FIG. 2, this Figure shows only a portion of a side wall of a food-transporting container or vessel. The upper edge of side wall 10 is twice angled to form a downwardly open channel 11 and having a horizontal abutment portion 12. The container can be closed by means of an insertable cover 13 which, from an examination 'of FIGS. 1 and 2, is seen to consist of a substantially flat surface. Cover 13 is provided with at least substantially vertically upwardly extending portions 14 and with a horizontal abutment rim or flangedportion 15 which limits the extent to which the cover enters into the container by abutting against the portion 12 of the container edge. As the sectional illustration of FIG. 2 shows, the inner side of cover 13 is provided in the marginal region thereof with a flexible member or sea]- ing ring 24 which has an extended portion or sealing lip 25. Thus, sealing lip 25 is provided on the sealing ring 24 and tapers in a direction towards the outer edge thereof and projects beyond the vertical portion 14 of the cover 13. The extent to which sealing lip 25 pro.- jects beyond vertical portion4 is not critical except in so far as it must be capable of being inserted into and flexed by the container vessel. Otherwise, in the closed condition of the container, sealing lip 25 may not reach side wall 10 with the resultnat loss of the advantages of the present invention. On the other hand, and depending upon the flexibility of sealing lip 25, extending the latter more than a maximum amount may create problems in closing the container. As stated above, the actual amount of extension is not critical and a wide range of values can be used, which range would be easily ascertainable by one skilled in the art who is interested in constructing containers in accordance with the present disclosure. The sealing ring 24, an annular flexible member, is clamped between the inner side of the cover 13 and a retaining ring 26. Retaining ring 26 is an angled annular member having a portion 27 which is secured to the inner side of cover 13 as, for example, by spot welding. Holding or retaining member 26 provides an annular recess between retaining ring 26 and the inner side of cover 13 which extends around the entire periphery of cover 13. The height of the recess so created is selected to conform to the thickness dimension of sealing ring 24 sothat the latter is clamped between the inner side of the cover and the retaining ring 26. Preferably, but not necessarily, the height of the recess is slightly smaller than the thickness of sealing ring 24 so that the clamping action is effective in retaining sealing ring 24 within the recess even in the presence of outwardly radial forces that may be exerted upon sealing ring 24. The possibility of the existence of such forces is especially present during opening or closuer of the container, as will soon become apparent.

When the cover 13' is inserted into the opening of the food-transporting container, the projecting lip 25 is deflected by the container wall 10 and, in that state, frictionally slides along side wall 10 until the container has come to rest, as when abutment rim 15 comes into contact with portion 12 of the container edge. In the instance'where the container is being closed, i.e., when the cover is being lowered or inserted into the container within the confines of side wall 10, the sealing lip 25 is upwardly deflected and the frictional forces which result from the sliding movement of sealing lip 25 against side wall 10, will have a tendency to generate radially outward forces within sealing ring 24. For this reason, as explained above, it is necessary thatsealing ring 24 be adequately retained or connected to cover 13. As suggested above, one possible way of achieving this is to provide a press fit by suitably selecting the dimensions of sealing ring 24 as well as of holding or retaining ring 26. Other means, of course, exist and these include gluing or cementing sealing ring 24 within the recess defined by holding or retaining ring 26, and connecting sealing ring 24 to either the cover 13 or retaining ring 26 by means of bolts or other such means. As will be appreciated,- the tendency of sealing lip 25, being in a flexed or deflected state, is to return to its original unstressed position. The forces required. to main sealing lip 25 in the deflected state will depend on the dimensions of sealing lip 25 as well as flexibility of the material out of which sealing lip 25 is made. The stronger the forces required to deflect sealing lip 25, the stronger will be the forces that sealing lip 25 will in turn exert against side wall 10 and the better will be the seal between these two members. To provide effective sealing between the interior and the exterior of the container,it is also necessary that an adequate seal be pro,- vided between sealing ring 24 and cover. 13. Any of the above suggested means for securing sealing ring 24'to cover 13 could also provide or result in such adequate sealing. Thus, a force fit of sealing ring 24 within the annular groove formed by retaining ring 26 would provide an appropriate seal.

Still referring to FIG. 2, cover 13 is provided with at least one depressed area 18 which, as shown in FIGS. 1 2, is substantially made of flat surfaces. Located in the region 18 of the cover is an air-escape opening 19 which can be closed by means of a plug 20 of synthetic plastic material. Plug 20 is of one-piece construction with the strap 21 of synthetic plastic material; Plug 20 is situated on one end of strap 21 and is pivotally mounted about strap 21 in relation to cover 13 by means of pin or projection 22 formed in the depressed less than the intermediate opening. A pin or projection 22 has a shaft and a head and is mounted in the depressed region 18. The height of the shaft is slightly greater than the thickness of strap 21 and its diameter is slightly smaller than the width of slot 23' so that the shaft may be moved through said slot. The diameter of the head of 23 is somewhat smaller than the diameter of the intermediate opening'23 but is greater than the width of slot 23' or of the end opening also forming part of strap opening 23. As shown in FIG-1, the strap 21 is anchored to the cover. By removing plug 20 from air removal opening 19 and exerting a force on strap 21 along its longitudinal axis, it can be so displaced with reference to the pin 22 that the latter enters into the region of the larger-dimension strap opening 23 so that the strap with the plug 20 can be lifted off the pin 22. In this manner, the plugs 20 are releasably arranged. The diameter of plug 20 should preferably be somewhat larger than the diameter of air-removal opening 19 in order that, by the slight deformation of plug 20 by opening 19 as a result of insertion therein, an adequate air seal is provided. Although shown in the cover 13, a plug similar to plug 20 can equally well be provided at a suitable point on side wall of the vessel, as illustrated by imaginary opening 19 and imaginary plug Instead of using a plug 19 as shown, it is equally possible to use a conventional valve. Again, this could be provided either in cover 13 or in side wall 10. A valve may be more appropriate in instances where high pressures may cause the plug of the type illustrated in FIG. 2 to be released from opening 19. By providing plug means or valve means, air is permitted to flow into and out of said container vessel. This becomes important when the cover 13 is inserted or removed from said container vessel. When cover 13 is inserted into the container vessel, it displaces some air and this air must be permitted to flow out of the container; otherwise very high pressures would build up within the container and the cover could not be properly closed. Therefore, during insertion, plug 20 is removed from opening 19 to provide air communication between the interior and the exterior of the container vessel. Now, as cover 13 is inserted, the displaced air flows out through air removal opening 19 and no pressuee build-up takes place within the container vessel. SImilarly, when cover 13 is to be taken out or removed from the container vessel, it is again necessary to remove plug 20 from opening 19. If no opening were provided for air communication between the interior and the exterior of the container vessel during cover removal, the pressures exterior to the cover would impair removal of cover 13. The provision of an opening 19 during cover removal permits the continuous equalization of pressures within and without the container vessel. By providing a closable opening, such as by providing a plug 20 for opening 19, or by providing a closable valve, an extra advantage results. Thus, after cover 13 has been fully inserted within the container vessel, and plug 20 has been positioned within air-removal opening 19, there is no longer any air communication between the exterior and the interior of the container vessel. It will be appreciated that any movement of the cover. 13 in a direction which would remove the cover 13 from thecontainer vessel, will have the tendency of decreasing the internal pressure in the container vessel or, stated another way, creating suction. According to either view, the lowering of the internal pressure relative to the external pressure will result in a pneumatic retaining effect of the cover within the container. The resulting retaining pressures, which are somewhat a function of the extent to which the exterior and the interior of the container vessel are shielded from one another, can be quite substantial and provides a simple and economic means of retaining cover 13 within the container.

Cover 13 is also provided with a recessed or depressed region 16 of circular outline through which a cup-shaped round handle 17 is provided. The configu-, ration of handle 17 is not cirtical and any other configuration which can be gripped is equally. suitable. FIG. 3 shows a corner region of the flat sealing ring 24 which is reliably anchored to the cover 13 over a relatively wide area. The outer sealing lip 25 is relatively wide which assures that even substantial manufacturing tolerances in the covers and the transporting containers closed by them cannot influence the sealing effectiveness. The relatively wide and flexible sealing lip 25 further assures a tight closure even at points at which the wall 10 of the transporting container maybe bent inwardly or outwardly.

The illustrated food-transporting container and the appropriately dimensioned cover need not have the configuration shown in the drawing, but can have any other desired configuration. Essential is that the seal between the cover and the container is effected by a deflectable sealing lip which abuts against the inner side of the container, and the cross-sectional configuration of the sealing ring provided with this sealing lip, and the manner in which his connected with the cover, can be chosen freely. Also, as previously stated, the closure of the air-escape opening 19 can be carried out with differently configurated plugs or by means of a valve whose closure member can be selectively arrested in its opened position.

In operation, the food-transporting container vmay be filled with food, the great part of which will be in a fluidized state and normally capable of spilling out from the container. With the present invention, transporting the food becomes a very simple manner. A cover, as above described and illustrated in FIG. 2, is aligned with the opening of the container and, with plug 20 removed, is inserted into the container opening until rim 15 of cover 13 abuts with flange 12 which forms an extension of side wall 10. Abutting members 12 and 15 assure that cover 13 is not inserted into the container vessel more than necessary and more importantly prevents the cover from falling into the vessel. Once abutment as just described has been achieved, plug 20 is inserted into air-removal opening 19. At this time, the container, with the food therein, can be conveniently transported without fear that cover 13 will come off or that any component of the food will flow outv Because there are no projections above the flat surface defining cover 13, it is possible to stack like containers and transport the containers conveniently and efficiently. When it is desired to remove cover 13 from the container, plug 20 is removed from opening 19, and cover 13 is grasped by handle 17 and sufficient force is applied so as to overcome the frictional forces resulting from the slidable movement of sealing lip 25 against side wall 10.

While the. invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a food-transporting container, it is not to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint or prior art, fairly constitute essential features of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:

1. A transporting container, particularly for food stuffs, comprising first means defining a vessel having an opening; second means constituting a cover for and configurated for matingly closing said opening, said second means including a substantially flat surface having at least one recessed portion; flexible means carried by one of said first and second means and adapted for frictional and sealing engagement with the other of said first and second means in response to closure of said opening by said second means; and vent means provided in said recessed portion for permitting the flow of fluid into and out of said vessel, said vent means being provided with closure means comprising a stopper for inserting in said vent means, and holding means in said recessed portion for securing said stopper to said surface, said holding means comprising an elongated flexible strap one end of which being connected to said stopper and the other being provided with two circular openings having first and second diameters, said openings being separated and coupled by a slot having a width which is-smaller than the larger of said first and second diameters, and a pin located in said recessed portion having a diameter corresponding to said slot width and adapted for movement therein, said pin being provided with a circular head smaller than one but larger than the other of said circular openings, whereby said strap may be secured to said pin by insertion of said circular head through said larger opening, and moving said strap in relation to said pin to bring said pin past said slot and intosaid smaller opening. 

1. A transporting container, particularly for food stuffs, comprising first means defining a vessel having an opening; second means constituting a cover for and configurated for matingly closing said opening, said second means including a substantially flat surface having at least one recessed portion; flexible means carried by one of said first and second means and adapted for frictional and sealing engagement with the other of said first and second means in response to closure of said opening by said second means; and vent means provided in said recessed portion for permitting the flow of fluid into and out of said vessel, said vent means being provided with closure means comprising a stopper for inserting in said vent means, and holding means in said recessed portion for securing said stopper to said surface, said holding means comprising an elongated flexible strap one end of which being connected to said stopper and the other being provided with two circular openings having first and second diameters, said openings being separated and coupled by a slot having a width which is smaller than the larger of said first and second diameters, and a pin located in said recessed portion having a diameter corresponding to said slot width and adapted for movement therein, said pin being provided with a circular head smaller than one but larger than the other of said circular openings, whereby said strap may be secured to said pin by insertion of said circular head through said larger opening, and moving said strap in relation to said pin to bring said pin past said slot and into said smaller opening. 